Fixture

Away to Pontyberem 06/01/2018

New Year, new venue, first time at Pontyberem for Saints and after a convincing win at home in September by 24 points to 5, a good result was hoped for, to turn the club’s playing fortunes around after a bad run of four defeats.

The opening stages were scrappy but hard fought with both sides looking for opportunities to open the scoring but it was twenty minutes before the home side broke the duck from a scrum, with a routine score through a gap in Saints defence by their inside centre and a simple conversion for the outside half.

The visitors were finding it hard to establish any clear pattern of attack and mistakes on a slippery surface foiled many promising moves to strike a telling blow before number 10 Jake Philpin, on his debut, collected a loose ball on half way and showing a good turn of speed outpaced all the home side chasers to score his first try for Saints under the posts, converted by James Davies to level the scores.

Unfortunately Saints undid all this good, though slightly fortuitous turn of events, by then conceding a try immediately after the restart to go in at half time 12 points to 7 down.

Five minutes into the second half Llyr Ebsworth, playing in an unaccustomed wing position, levelled the scores with a good try in the corner and this set the scene for what turned into a thrilling final session of rugby with both sides looking to gain the upper hand in some end to end rugby.

A successful penalty for the home side nudged Pont into the lead and a missed pass in Saints back line on their 22 turned over possession to allow the home side to touch down under the posts which, together with a simple conversion, created a ten point lead.

Saints fought back however and in a breath taking spell, with an exchange of yellow cards for Saints number 8 and Pont’s number 6 to stir things up, scrum half Owain Davies crashed through the narrowest of gaps with a simple conversion reducing the difference to three points.

Only then, in the cruellest turn of events with seconds remaining and every option for both sides still possible, a pin point cross field kick from Pont’s number 10 found his right wing in space and able to score under the posts, with a simple conversion, delivering the final thrust of the day in what was effectively the last play of the game.